Indecipherable Looks

Chapter 6

Something was repeatedly smacking his face.

"You little shit." Riftan growled at the kitten who had forced him out of his sleep, pushing him away. Like nothing happened, the ever resilient Daphne sprang back towards him and continued his attack when Riftan tried to roll over, landing right on the man's face.

"That's it!" He sat straight up, holding Daphne a safe distance away from his face while the bastard continued to swing. This damn thing had been plaguing him for too long. Getting lost, knocking over his belongings, waging war against him with no fear-

"If you were anyone else, you'd be a fucking dead man." His annoyance grew with every word, as Daphne was wiggling and trying to get free. The cat's large blue eyes blinked with false innocence.

Purring, Daphne finally gave up his struggle, flopping down and looking at Riftan. He scowled. No pity from him for this demon in fur.

But the thing was cute, he reluctantly admitted. And helped him get to Maxi.

She was surprised when he brought up the nickname, but said she liked it anyway. And now that was how he thought of her; Maxi, his Maxi in secret. Now if only her last name would be changed, too.

That was getting ahead of things. Riftan cringed while he put Daphne down as far away from himself as possible and got up, deciding that rising early would be better than laying unmoving in his thoughts.

He didn't even know how to tell her of his true intentions. Should he just come out and say it? But that was liable to scare her off. Writing could leave her confused if she interpreted his words wrong. Riftan shortly considered asking someone, but the only people that came to mind were the clowns...or, knights he worked with, so that was certainly out of the question. He could never ask Ruth for any advice, not when the wizard knew too much about his feelings already. Besides; you don't ask how to fish from a man with nothing on his line.

Riftan looked over into the red horizon, which only amplified his thoughts of her that much more. The truth was, the past few weeks had been more than he ever dreamed of. A brief look, a short grace of her eyes upon him was all he ever expected. To have so much more- it was nerve-wracking, and always left him needing to hear her voice, her laugh, to feel her quick touch again. He felt like an addict hungering for more, never satisfied until he was with her once again. There was no way he could give her up now, to go back to his lonely life would be unfathomable. If Maxi would take him, if there was some slim chance, he had to try. And Riftan would unashamedly beg on his knees for her hand- to say the Duke was protective was only scratching the surface of how austere he was when it came to his daughters, but if he saw how greatly Riftan cared for...no, loved Maximilian Croix, then maybe, just maybe he could pull this off.

There were a lot of hurdles, but he had done his fair share of impossible before. Who was to say things couldn't work out between them?

Though his momentary optimism plummeted when he remembered who he really was. All of the rumors that followed Riftan Calypse- it seemed that no matter what he did or accomplished, to a select few he was still seen as a dirty bug from the south.

He had never dwelled much on the opinions of others, but the idea of her seeing him that way, it made him feel terribly empty.

Still, he reminded himself that she had never mentioned his skin or seemed to care; well, not in a negative way. In fact, he had noticed her blush after looking at his face on several occasions. Biting back a smile, Riftan began to wash and get dressed. That recurring flustered state of hers couldn't be a bad sign, he knew that for sure. And that shy smile of hers when she saw him- God, she was driving him into madness, being completely ignorant of what she meant to him, what her every action did to him.